Trolley-wheel.



E. U. DOWN.

' TROLLEY WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 25, 1913.

1,100,960. Patented June 23,1914.

WI I'NESSES:

INVENTOR.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPM Eva-,WAS NNNNNNNNNN C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ERNEST U. DOWN, OF BOWLING GREEN, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE DOWN TROLLEY SUPPLY COMPANY, OF TOLEDO, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

TBOLLEY-WHEEL.

To all 1071 am it may concern Be it known that I, ERNEST U. Down, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Bowling Green, in the county of Vood and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Trolley-lVheel; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompany ing drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The invention relates to electric railway appliances and particularly to a trolleywheel and harp.

The primary object of the invention'is the provision of an improved trolley-wheel and harp, which are simple and inexpensive in their construction, capable of being easily and quickly assembled or taken apart for the purpose of repairing, substitution, or the like, and which reduces to a minimum the objections incident to the use of devices of this character, thus enhancing the practicability and commercial value thereof.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an improved form of yielding brush contact between the wheel and harp whereby to prolong the life of the contacting parts and to very materially reduce the cost of maintenance, or the replacing of worn brush parts, which is a considerable expense item in the use of the trolley-wheels and harps commonly employed.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description thereof.

lVhile the invention in its broader aspect, is capable of embodiment in numerous forms, a preferred embodiment thereof is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is an enlarged central vertical section of the trolley-wheel and harp embodying my invention taken on the line at, a: in Fig. 2. Figs. 2 and 3 are side and front elevations of the trolley-wheel and harp. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the inner contact brush or block of the wheel.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates the trolleywheel harp or holder, which has the customary pole receiving socket 2 in its inner end and has the single wheel carrying I Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 25, 1913.

Patented June 23, 1914.

Serial No. 744,175.

arm 3 projecting longitudinally from one side of its outer end. The arm 3 is formed at one side of its outer end portion with a cylindrical bearing part 1 into which the hub journal of the trolley-wheel rotatably fits, as hereinafter-described. The bearing part 4: projects from what may be termed the inner side of the harp arm'3, or from the side thereof which is adjacent to the axis of the socket 2, if the arm is offset from such socket, as in the present instance.

The trolley-wheel, in the present instance, comprises the outer rim section 5 and the inner spider or disk section 6, with the adj a cent edges of such sections overlapped and in annular tongue and groove engagement, as at 7, and rigidly secured together as by screws 8, said screws working through thickened port-ions of the respective sections, as indicated at 9 in Figs. 1 and 2.

An annular journal or bearing flange 10 projects from one side of the wheel disk or spider 6 in concentric relation to its axis and is intended to project into the bearing part 4 for free rotation therein. The bearing faces of the'bearing part 4: and journal 10 are preferably provided with removable bushings or sleeves 11 and 12, respectively, of suitable bearing material, one for instance being of brass and the other of steel, each being preferably keyed to its respective bearing part by a pin 13. Projecting axially from the side of the spider 6, from which the flange 10 projects, and in spaced concentric relation to said flange, is a stub shaft 14: which is of greater length than the flange 10 to enable it to project outward through a registering opening 15 in the harp arm 3. The bearing flange 10 and stub shaft 14 cooperate to form an annular chamber 16 in which a coiled compression spring 17 is mounted in shaft encircling position.

A contact brush or block 18, of annular or ring form, is mounted for axial slidin'g movements on the stub shaft 1a and is intended to have a close sliding fit at its outer edge within the flange 10 at the outer end portion of the chamber 16. A flange 19 pro jects into the chamber 16 from the block 18 and bears against the spring 17, whereby the face of the block 18 is yieldingly projected beyond the outer end of the flange 10 and against the registering bearing surface of the arm 3, or a washer 20 disposed between said block and arm. The block 18 is prevented from turning on the shaft 14 by providing notches 21 in the flange 19 for straddling an anchoring pin 22 that is projected transversely through the shaft 14 and across the chamber 16. The pin 22 also serves as a retainer for the spring 17 to prevent its falling from within the chamber 16 when the wheel is removed from the bearingarm.

An outer annular contact-brush 23 is mounted on the outer end of the wheel shaft 14 with its contact face in contact with the outer side of the bearing-arm 3 in opposition to the inner brush or block 18, or in contact with a washer 24, which may be interposed between the brush 23 and bearing-arm. The brush 28 is retained on the shaft 14 by inserting a cotter-pin 25 through registering openings in the extended sleeve portion of said brush and in the outer end portion of the shaft, as indicated. It is evident that the cotter-pin 25 in addition to retaining the brush 23 on its shaft, serves also to retain the parts in assembled relation. The washers 20 and 24 are preferably interposed between the bearing arm 3 and the respective brushes or blocks 18 and 23 to save the arm from wear and to enable such washers to be replaced by new ones when they have worn down. These washers are prevented from having rotation with the brushes or blocks 18 and 23 by providing one, the,

washer 24, in the present instance, with a transversely projecting spur 26, which projects through registering openings in the arm 3 and into the washer 20. The anchor ing of the washers 20 and 24 against turning relative to the arm 3 insures a frictional contact of the brushes with the respective washers and a consequent cleaning of the contact surfaces. It evident that the spring 17 serves to retain both of the contact brushes or blocks 18 and 23 in yielding contact with their respective arm surfaces so that any wear occurring between such contact sur faces will be taken up and compensated for by the acticn of the spring.

Should the brushes become broken or worn out they can be easily and quickly replaced. These brushes, however, owing to their thickness, will last a long time and will not need to be replaced at short intervals, as is the case with most of the types of spring brushes commonly employed.

For the purpose of supplying oil to the bearing parts, the sub-shaft 14 is made hoilow for the greater portion of its length to provide the oil reservoir therein, one end of such reservoir opening without the disk or spider end thereof and being closed by a screw stopper 28, or in any other suitable manner. One or more openings 29 are provided through the wall of the reservoir 27, preferably in register with oil feeding grooves 30 in the contact face of the brush or block 18, whereby the contacting surfaces may be lubricated and the oil also permitted to pass radially through the grooves 30 and between the bearing surfaces of the parts 4 and 10 or between the bearing surfaces of the bushin 11 and sleeve 12. The sleeve 12 is preferably provided adjacent to the outer or exposed edge of the bushing 11 with an annular groove in which a split spring ring 31 is disposed to prevent the lubricant from working out from between the bearing faces of the bearing members 11 and 12. A portion of the lubricant also works outward through the arm opening 15 in which the stub-shaft 14 has its bearing, and between the contacting faces of the outer brush 23 and washer 24, if such washer is employed.

It is found in practice that a trolley-wheel and harp constructed and assembled in the manner described or similar thereto pro vides a very simple, efficient and cheap apparatus of this character which is economical in its upkeep or maintenance and is capabio of being easily and quickly taken apart by simply removing the cotter-pin 25, w iich permits the wheel and parts carried thereby to be removed axially from the arm bearing. The double or opposed yielding contact of the inner and outer brushes or blocks 18 and 23 against the interposed portion of the arm insures a minimum loss of current between the contacting parts and enables the inner brush 18 to be entirely protected by the inclosing parts.

The interlocking of the spider and rim sections of the wheel in the manner shown at 7 is found to very largely, if not entirely, overcome the expanding action of the rim section relative to the spider section due to the highly heating of the rim section when in use. Where no interlocking means of this character is provided between the connecting portions of the inner and outer sections of the wheel, the uniting means such as rivets, bolts, screws, or the like, are quite frequently sheared off by the outward eX- panding action of the rim section relative to the spider section.

49 designates a guard finger which projects upward and inward from the outer end portion of the harp arm 3 to adjacent the top edge of the trolley-wheel for trolleywire warding-01f purposes.

I wish it understood that my invention is not limited to any specific construction or arrangement of the parts, except in so far as such limitations are specified in the claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is,

1. In combination, a trolley-wheel bearing arm having a bearing socket in one side thereof, and a restricted bearing opening in one end of said socket, a trolley-wheel having spaced axial bearing parts one being journaled within the socket and the other within said opening, means for retaining the wheel and arm in assembled relation, and a brush axially movable on one of said bearing parts and influenced to have yielding contact with the arm.

2-. In combination, a trolley-wheel carrying arm, a trolley-wheel having a bearing flange and a shaft projecting from one side thereof and journaled in different parts of said arm, a brush axially movable on the shaft in contact therewith, and means influencing a yielding contact of the brush with the arm.

3. In combination, a trolley-wheel carrying arm having a transverse opening through a part thereof and a bearing socket in coaxial relation to said opening, a trolleywheel having an annular bearing flange journaled in said socket and a part projecting through said opening, ring brushes carried by said wheel part at opposite sides of said opening, means for securing the outer brush ring to said part, and means yieldingly acting on the wheel and inner brush ring to retain both brush rings in yielding contact with the arm.

4;. In combination, a trolley-wheel carrying arm having a transverse opening therethrough, a trolley-wheel having a shaft part projecting axially therefrom and journaled in said opening, ring brushes carried by said part at opposite sides of the arm, and means acting on the trolley-wheel and one of said brushes to retain both brushes in yielding contact with the arm.

5. In combination, a trolley-wheel bearing arm having a transverse opening therein and a coaxial bearing socket which is larger than said opening, a trolley-wheel having concentric bearing parts, one being journaled within said opening and the other within said socket, and ring brushes carried by one of said parts and influenced to have opposing yielding contact with the arm.

6. In combination, a trolley-wheel bearing arm having a transverse opening therein and a communicating coaxial bearing socket which is larger than said opening, a trolleywheel having a shaft projecting axially therefrom through said socket and journaled in said opening and having a bearing flange which surrounds and is spaced from the inner end portion of said shaft and which has a bearing in said socket, a ring brush axially movable in the space between said shaft and flange and having contact with at least one thereof, a spring disposed between said shaft and flange and acting on the brush to hold it in yielding contact with the inner. side of said arm, and means preventing a withdrawal of the shaft from the arm opening.

7. In combination, a trolley-wheel bearing arm having a transverse opening therein and a communicating coaxial bearing socket which is larger than said opening, the trolley-wheel having spaced concentric bearing parts projecting from one side thereof the outer one being journaled in said socket and the inner one being journaled in said opening, a ring brush axially movable in the space between said bearing parts, a ring brush removably carried by the outer end of the inner bearing part, and means disposed within the space between the bearing parts and influencing an opposed yielding contact of the brushes with said arm.

8. In combination, a trolley-wheel bearing arm having a transverse opening therein, a trolley-wheel having a shaft part projecting axially therefrom and journaled in said opening, means for preventing a withdrawal of the shaft part from said opening, brush rings carried by the shaft part at opposite sides of said arm, and means for causing said rings to have yielding contact against the opposite sides of said arm.

9. In combination, a trolley-wheel bearing arm having a transverse opening therein, a trolley-wheel having an axially projecting shaft part journaled in said opening and prevented from withdrawal therefrom, brush rings encircling the shaft part at opposite sides of said arm, means for causing said rings to have yielding contact with the respective sides of the bearing arm, and removable contact parts interposed between the brush rings and the bearing arm.

10. In combination, a trolley-wheel bearing arm having a transverse opening therein and a communicating coaxial bearing socket which is larger than said opening, a trolleywheel having spaced coaxial bearing parts projecting from one side thereof, one being journaled in said socket and the other in said opening, means for retaining the arm and wheel in assembled relation, a brush ring having sliding contact with one of said bearing parts and yielding contact with said arm within the socket, a removable bearing bushing in said socket, and a coacting removable bearing sleeve on the outer of said Wheel bearing parts.

11. In combination, a trolley-wheel bearing arm having a transverse opening therein, a trolley-wheel having a hollow bearing part projecting from one side thereof forming an internal oil reservoir and having a stoppered filling opening, said bearing part being journaled in the arm opening, and a brush ring encircling said bearing part and having yielding contact against a side of the bearing arm, said reservoir having an outlet opening to permit the passage of oil therefrom to lubricate the brush contact.

12. In combination, a trolley-wheel bearing arm having a transverse opening therein, a trolley-wheel having a bearing part projecting axially therefrom and journaled in said mooning brush rings carried by said bearing part at opposite sides of the arm, and means for causing said brush rings to have opposite yielding contact With said arm, said bearing part being hollow to form an oil reservoir and having one or more outlet openings for permitting the passage of oil therefrom to the contacting surfaces of said bearing part, brush rings and arm.

13. In combination, a trolley-Wheel bearing arm having a transverse opening therein and a coaxial. bearing socket which is larger than said opening, a trolley-Wheel having a part journaled in said socket and a part journaled in said opening, means for retaining the arm and Wheel in assembled relation, a brush ring encircling one of said parts, and means for causing said brush ring to have yielding contact With a side of the bearing arm, one of said bearing parts having an oil reservoir there in communication With the bearing surfaces of said bearing parts and With the contact surfaces of said brush ring.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name to this specification in the presence of tWo subscribing Witnesses.

ERNEST U. DOWN. Witnesses:

C. W. OWEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

